Sabrina Canfield reports:
A Tulane graduate student sued a state judge in Federal Court, demanding the return of a 7-page jury-selection questionnaire that asked intrusive questions, including the name of his church, and whether he has ever been affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union, The National Organization of Women, or Amnesty International.
Joshua Galjour, a Swiss national who is a graduate student at Tulane’s School of Public Heath and Tropical Medicine, says he filled out the intrusive questionnaire because he was afraid he could be prosecuted if he refused.
Galjour says the questions included: “Have you ever belonged to or been involved with the American Civil Liberties Union, or the National Organization of Women, or Amnesty International? … if the answer is yes please list the group you had contact with and explain your participation.”
The complaint adds: “There was no indication given as to the nature of the case for which the plaintiff had been summoned to serve on a jury and no indication of the relevance of the questions on the questionnaire to the facts of any specific case,” according to the complaint.
[…]
Galjour wants his questionnaire destroyed, and the court enjoined “from issuing jury questionnaires that seek to compel the disclosure of constitutionally protected private information.” Galjour sued the 17th Judicial District Court of Lafourche Parish and Judge Jerome Barbera III.
Read more on Courthouse News. You can read the complaint here (pdf).